Out Of The Shadows And Into The Spotlight

Chapter 4

Lauren POV

As I walked into the school barely anyone was in the hallways, everyone was most likely in first period. It really didn't bother me much that I was late, no one ever said anything about it. My teachers know who I am, well they know the hidden nerd and softball player.

"Jauregui! Where have you been, babe?" A voice echoed through my ears. I looked around only to be faced with one of the boys I hate most in this school; Brad Simpson. He is always hitting on me and asking me out, only to get turned down. And what makes matters worst is that he insists in calling me babe just to annoy me.

"I'm not your babe, Brad, nor will I ever be." I snarled, glaring at him. He held his hands in a 'I surrender' position but I knew he was trying to get under my skin. As I turned on my heel I heard whistles behind me.

Don't do anything risky, Lauren. The softball team needs you.

"Laur! Ohmygod I have great news... The principal picked me to show 4 Settings around the school!" Demi said, jumping onto my back. It took me a few minutes before I could fully gain my balance back.

"Great, Dem. Now get off of me." My words were like ice and I heard Demi scoff, but she jumped off my back and stood in front of me, a smile plastered on her face.

"I really can't wait. But until they get here we need to go to class, we can't start failing and not play softball." I smiled at her words, softball was one of the many things we had in common. She knew I would get good grades just to play.

...

Once the day was over we had softball practice, and once that was over I drove my motorcycle to the local pizza place, along with Demi who was in her white 1994 Volkswagen Beetle.

As we walked into Sebastian's Pizzeria I noticed more people in here than usual. Demi must've noticed this too because she leant over and said, "I hope our tables not taken, otherwise I'll let you loose." I chuckled at her words.

"You know Sebastian, he'll always save our table." I told her, walking over to the counter where Demi's girlfriend was standing, taking orders. "Hey, Selena." Before she could respond Demi had her in a lip lock. "Excuse me, I'd like to order and not get a disease in my food." I said, bursting into laugher at their red faces.

"If you rarely saw your girlfriend you'd do the same thing." Demi retorted.

"Yes, but I don't have a girlfriend." I told her with a smirk. She rolled her eyes and whispers something in Selena's ear, which made Selena burst into a fit of giggles. I raised my eyebrow at the couple before rolling my eyes. "Can I just order?" My annoyed tone made both of them stick their tongues out at me.

"Can you hurry it up!" A voice boomed from behind us. I let out a small laugh as Demi told Selena our orders. Once Selena had our orders we paid, got our drinks, and went to sit at our normal table.

"So, are you gonna take Selena anywhere for your 5 month anniversary?" I asked Demi, taking a drink of my water. Demi gave me a sheepish grin before leaning forward.

Camila POV

As we made it through Miami I couldn't help but feel ecstatic, yet nervous. This was where my life was before the X Factor, this was where Lauren was.

What if she doesn't remember?

"Mila! We're here!" Normani's voice echoed through the bus. My pulse started beating like sledgehammer. This was too nerve wracking.

"You hear Mani? We're here! We just passed the school but now we're going to some place called Sebastian's Pizzeria." Ally said, sticking her head in my bunk.

Sebastian's Pizzeria? Why do I know that name?

"Yeah, let me change and I'll meet you all in the front room." I told her, rolling out of my bunk since it was at the bottom. As I rolled out Dinah jumped over me, muttering something about the bathroom.

Once I was out of my bunk I grabbed a Ed Sheeran tank top and white joggers, then went to the back where I changed clothes.

As I walked to the from portion of the bus I heard the other girls laughing.

"How far are we from that pizza place?" I asked, sitting down next to Mani.

"Actually, we're here. Cover your faces and eat quick. Simon wants you at the house by 7:30." Our bus driver, Aaron, told us.

"Yes, sir!" We all said in unison. He chuckled at our antics as we put on SnapBacks and glasses. We looked like any other teenage girl, except the walking out of a tour bus part.

...

Aaron was smart, and he parked our bus in the alley a block away from the pizza place. The only bad part of that was walking a block and trying not to get noticed. But this is what we signed up for, so we have to deal with it.

"Mila, do you remember anyone from here? Old friends? Girlfriends?" Mani asked, raising an eyebrow and adding a smirk. My eyes flickered to Dinah for a second before I nodded my head.

"Yeah, Lauren Jauregui. She is- was... I guess my best friend. She was sweet, kind, caring... Just plain amazing. And her voice was so smooth and husky..." I trailed off, wiping a tear from my eye at the memory.

"Aww, that's so sweet, Mila." Ally said, slinging an arm over my shoulder. Dinah smiled at me, like she was proud.

"Hey! Enough with the story of Mila's long lost love, I see the pizza place!" Normani's voice cut through. We all looked to where she was pointing and walked towards the Pizzeria.

As we walked inside I saw barely anyone here. There was two girls at the back, sitting in a booth. Then there was three other couples, sitting at random tables.

"Dinah go get the food, we'll find a table." Ally said, pulling Mani and I towards a table at the back, near the two girls. I took a glance and took note of their features.

The one on the right side of the booth had short, wavy chocolate brown hair, and eyes to match. She also had purple strands in her hair. The other girl had long, straight dark, almost black, brown hair. She was in black jeans and a leather jacket, she had that badass aura to her. That's when I noticed her eyes.

Lauren?

A/N: This is a very long chapter, and I'm gonna post another one later tonight. Tell me what you guys think.